Vagabon

Laetitia Tamko was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon. At age 13 her family relocated to New York so her mother could attend law school.{{Cite web|url=http://www.wmagazine.com/story/laetitia-tamko-vagabon-musician-infinite-worlds-the-embers|title=Girl of the Moment: Laetitia Tamko, AKA Vagabon, Has This Indie Rock Star Thing Under Control|last=Thompson|first=Katherine Cusumano|date=February 22, 2017|website=W Magazine|access-date=March 25, 2017}} Having come from a French-speaking country, Tamko learned to speak English and was soon able to attend Westchester

High School. Tamko later attended City College of New York and graduated from the Grove School of Engineering in 2015.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nylon.com/articles/vagabon-interview|title=Vagabon belongs to 'Infinite Worlds'|last=Gore|first=Sydney|date=February 24, 2017|website=Nylon Magazine|access-date=March 25, 2017}}

At age 17, Tamko's parents bought her a Fender acoustic guitar from Costco. She taught herself to play by watching instructional DVDs.{{Cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/music/freak-folk-rising-vagabons-laetitia-tamko-tames-her-demons-in-real-time-8549691|title=Freak-Folk Rising: Vagabon's Laetitia Tamko Tames Her Demons in Real Time|last=Lim|first=Audrea|date=April 27, 2016|website=The Village Voice|access-date=March 25, 2017}} In 2014 she started uploading her music to Bandcamp under the pseudonym Vagabon. In addition to vocals and guitar, Tamko played drums, keyboard, and synth on her 2017 album Infinite Worlds.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/02/16/515241684/first-listen-vagabon-infinite-worlds|title=Review: Vagabon, 'Infinite Worlds'|work=NPR.org|access-date=June 8, 2018|language=en}} In 2018 she was invited to open for Courtney Barnett on her North American summer tour.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/05/watch-courtney-barnett-perform-nameless-faceless-o.html|title=Paste Magazine|website=pastemagazine.com|language=en|access-date=June 8, 2018}}

Initially, Tamko had been working on a follow-up project to Infinite Worlds in 2018. However, she scrapped it entirely to prioritize a genre-fluid approach to her next album.{{Cite news |title='There Will Be No Darkness': Laetitia Tamko On The Making Of 'Vagabon' |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/10/15/757514260/stream-laetitia-tamko-on-the-making-of-vagabon |access-date=2025-03-31 |work=NPR |language=en}} Her self-titled second album (Nonesuch, 2019) is self-produced and explores new sounds. It features digital sounds and synth strings alongside her delicate acoustic guitar. Most of the songs are written and played by the artist herself. "We reserve the right to be full when we’re on our own", she sings on her song "Every Woman".{{Cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/vagabon-vagabon/ |title=Laetitia Tamko leaps into new sounds and new horizons |date=October 20, 2019 |website=pitchfork.com |access-date=October 20, 2019}} Released as a single and official video which can be seen on her website, the song is a young feminist's manifesto. The album also represents a move beyond the indie-rock scene, the shift in sound a "rejection of being pigeonholed."{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/10/15/757514260/stream-laetitia-tamko-on-the-making-of-vagabon |title='There Will Be No Darkness': Laetitia Tamko On The Making Of 'Vagabon' |date=October 20, 2019 |website=National Public Radio |access-date=October 20, 2019}}

Vagabon was part of the Newport Folk Festival in July 2021.{{Cite web |title=Newport Folk Festival 2021 stage schedule |url=https://newportfolk.org/2021-schedule/ |access-date=2021-09-21 |website=newportfolk.org}}

In 2023, Vagabon's cover of "If I Loved You" appeared in the film, Red, White, & Royal Blue.{{Cite magazine |last=Lynch |first=Joe |date=2023-08-08 |title=Why the 'Red, White & Royal Blue' Soundtrack Doesn't Exactly Follow the Book |url=https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/red-white-royal-blue-soundtrack-book-1235385700/ |access-date=2023-09-10 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}

• Infinite Worlds (Father/Daughter Records, 2017)
• Vagabon (Nonesuch, 2019){{cite web |last1=Strauss |first1=Matthew |title=Vagabon Changes Name of New Album, Announces New Release Date |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/vagabon-changes-name-of-new-album-announces-new-release-date/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=August 23, 2019 |date=August 23, 2019}}
• Sorry I Haven't Called (Nonesuch, 2023){{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/vagabon-announces-tour-dates-and-album-shares-video-for-new-song-watch/|title=Vagabon Announces Tour Dates and Album, Shares Video for New Song: Watch|last=Ruíz|first=Matthew Ismael|website=Pitchfork|date=June 15, 2023|access-date=August 8, 2023}}

• Persian Garden (EP) (Miscreant, 2014)
• Vagabon on Audiotree Live (Audiotree Music, 2017)

{{Reflist}}

• [https://vagabon.bandcamp.com/ Vagabon's Bandcamp website]
• [https://vagabonvagabon.com/ Official website]
• [https://www.npr.org/artists/515189535/vagabon?t=1571928092273 Musician's profile Vagabon] at National Public Radio
• {{AllMusic|id=mn0003588550}}
• {{Discogs artist|5585900}}

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Category:1992 births

Category:Living people

Category:American women singer-songwriters

Category:Cameroonian emigrants to the United States

Category:City College of New York alumni

Category:Musicians from Yaoundé

Category:Nonesuch Records artists

Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters

Category:Father/Daughter Records artists

Category:American feminist musicians